BETTER WITH YOU “Better With Firehouse” Review

Once again illustrating the differences in the three couples, this week’s BETTER WITH YOU opens with Mia and Casey spontaneously recording a joint voicemail message on their landline phone only to throw it away since they both only use cellphones. Meanwhile, Maddie and Ben make several attempts to record a joint message, not agreeing on a single one. Finally, Vicky and Joel cannot even figure out how to record a message on their phone. Yes, I am a sucker for these montages.

Mia and Casey have everyone over to their apartment for dinner which involves quite a lot of meat and bacon. This leaves Ben wanting to make a “bringing home the bacon joke” although he is worried about the reception of his pun. Maddie agrees it is probably not a good idea. Mere minutes later, Joel makes the same joke and everyone laughs, including Maddie. Over plates of meat and bacon, Maddie’s parents and sister convince her that her apartment is too small for a growing family. As Maddie pictures all of the baby stuff, she realizes they are right and the hunt is on. Unfortunately, she and Casey have different ideas of places they want to live.

It was good to see the sisters bonding over appearing to be carefree and spontaneous while secretly wanting to be conservative and cookie cutter, at least when it comes to houses. It was equally fun to see the two sisters fighting to not get the house of “their dreams,” specifically a dilapidated and abandoned firehouse that Casey finds after the abandoned Chinese restaurant falls through. Maddie and Mia use every trick they can think of to avoid moving into the firehouse after Casey declares it can be all Maddie’s and Ben’s if it doesn’t work out for he and Mia. Mia fools Casey into thinking they cannot afford it with an old school adding machine and a lot of tape. Maddie has her own tricks up her sleeve and enlists her parents’ help to pay for the renovations that Mia has decided are too expensive.

While Maddie and Mia eventually decide to work together for the common cause, Ben and Casey decide to duke it out over who gets the firehouse. Well, actually Ben wants to wrestle Casey and assumes an awkward and uncomfortable position. Soon Ben and Casey are working together and devise the ultimate plan for both of them to live there – the four of them will share it. It is then that Maddie finally puts her foot down much to Ben’s relief as he merely got caught up in trying to impress a boy 6 years younger than him. Maddie takes the blame for not taking the firehouse, leaving it for Mia and Casey.

In one of the more touching scenes, Casey helps Mia see his vision of the firehouse, after the renovations and after it has become their home. He paints such a beautiful picture that even Maddie admits it sounds “pretty good.” Mia agrees and they decide to move forward in their new home. Maybe Casey is not just some silly boy after all.

On the parent front, Joel is recently retired and driving Vicky crazy. She enlists the assistance of a recently retired handyman to come over and fix things she breaks in order to keep Joel occupied. As Vicky puts it, retirement is like a game of 20 questions, only there is only ever one question “What are you doing?” Vicky’s plan backfires when Joel’s retired friends group grows at an astonishing rate until Vicky comes home to find a whole room full of retired men asking her what she is doing. She finally tells Joel to pick a hobby that doesn’t involve collecting old men.

I enjoyed this episode of Better With You as much as the last. I know that many people were not fans, but I find the show entertaining and refreshing. I actually like each character, which is rare these days. What did you think? Did this episode win you over? Are there any fans of Better With You out there? Tell me what you thought about tonight’s episode in the comments below.

About The Author

In addition to her almost obsessive love for horror movies, Dani also spends a lot of time in front of the TV. She has been known to get caught up in almost any TV marathon and can lose herself in any show that involves vampires. She spends the rest of her free time on the internet talking about TV or blogging, or reading a good book.